Roman Reigns is the United States champion and holds a victory over universal champion Kevin Owens.
There is the basis for their entire rivalry, which will culminate Sunday in a match for the latter's gold.
Reigns has been rolling of late, picking up huge victory after huge victory and leaving Owens lying on the December 12 episode of Raw. He held both the titles high overhead as fans in Philadelphia reacted, mostly negatively, though there was something about the image that was aesthetically pleasing.
Whereas Owens has been mishandled and haphazardly booked as champion, Reigns looked and felt like a champion every time he held the gold.
Sunday night, he could well end the year as he started it: the top star in the industry.
Better yet, he could be a double champion, the lead babyface on Raw and once again.
The Man.
At the same time, a victory over Reigns, especially clean, would give Owens the credibility he has lacked as champion. It would announce to the WWE Universe that the company is serious about presenting the Canadian star as the heel around whom it will build its premier show.
This piece began with a discussion about WWE's 50-50 style of booking and will end there.
When Reigns flattened Owens with the spear Monday night and held those titles high overhead, he sealed his fate. Any chance the Roman Empire had of ruling WWE went out the window the moment he made contact with KO.
Owens will retain, but it remains to be seen how. It still feels like WWE is wholly invested in protecting Reigns, so a clean win is out of the question. At the same time, Owens cannot continue to win in the flukiest of manners because his credibility as champion will be shot.
It may already be too late.